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This clip talks about whether or not the American Dream is achievable. He says what the American dream may be to others. He says that significantly more people believe that the freedom to live their lives as they choose and the ability to have family lives are more essential to their american dream than wealth and having a better quality life than their parents. I think that this shows how important different things are to everyone around the world.

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The American dream: Is it still alive? | IN 60 SECONDS

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Many people believe that the American dream is not something that everyone can achieve. In this article, it talks about why adults no longer believe in the American dream. In the article it states,"More blacks than Hispanics or whites have had to cut back on food for economic reasons, although there’s variance even among whites based on class, with a college education remaining a strong predictor of who’s not going to have to make sacrifices at the dinner table." This shows that not everyone is able to achieve their goals and it could be because of who they are. Even though people might've worked harder than others to achieve their goals, not all people do. Some people may come from high classes and others from low, which they may end up staying in. I think that the low classes should be provided with more support than people who don't need it because they could have families to provide and even their selves. Overall, I think that you need to work hard in order to get far in life. Don't settle where you are right now and instead put more effort into working for your goals.

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We collect data about how our economy is working - GDP, the monthly unemployment number, poverty rates - and then we collect data on how we feel the economy is working. There's dour news on that front this week: most Americans (72 percent) think the economy is still in a recession.

"Most Americans (72 percent) think the economy is still in a recession."

Consider that consumer confidence influences consumption, which, in turn, impacts GDP. Or that discouraged job-hunters shape the health of the labor market. Given those factors, it's fair to say that the way Americans think and feel about their own economic security is of utmost importance to understanding where America's economy is headed.

According to the annual American Values Survey of 4,500 Americans released Tuesday, 41 percent of Americans think they're in "good" or "excellent" financial shape, pretty close to 2012's 42 percent, but down from 50 percent four years ago.

Nearly half of Americans who once believed in the American dream (defined as the belief that if you work hard, you'll get ahead) think it no longer exists. Similarly, close to half of all Americans over 18 think their generation is better off financially than their children's will be.

"The most commonly reported economic insecurity reveals a human suffering more visceral, and perhaps less publicized, than layoffs or unemployment rolls."

What symptoms are Americans experiencing that have led to this gloomy outlook? With the results of the survey, the Public Religion Research Institute created an Economic Insecurity Index to zero in on specific conditions of economic malaise. They asked survey participants whether they'd experienced any of six different forms of economic insecurity: Had they reduced meals or cut back on food to save money? Were they unable to pay a monthly bill? Did they put off seeing a doctor for financial reasons? Had they lost a job or had hours reduced? Were they receiving food stamps or unemployment benefits?

The most commonly reported economic insecurity reveals a human suffering more visceral, and perhaps less publicized, than layoffs or unemployment rolls: food insecurity, with 36 percent of respondents saying they'd experienced it. It's possible that's the budgetary item Americans feel they have the most control over (compared to whether they pay a monthly bill or not, for example), and thus find it easiest to cut. It's not specified whether "cutting back to save money" means going hungry or forgoing an $8 bag of almonds.

More blacks than Hispanics or whites have had to cut back on food for economic reasons, although there's variance even among whites based on class, with a college education remaining a strong predictor of who's not going to have to make sacrifices at the dinner table.

PRRI created a composite index based on Americans' experiences with these six forms of insecurity, generating four tiered categories of insecurity - high, moderate, low and no reported insecurity.

Although nearly 40 percent don't report any insecurity, the insecurities Americans do feel aren't confined to the officially poor. Almost half of respondents who have household incomes of between $30,000 and $49,000 live in high or moderate economic insecurity households.

Class is yet another area where Americans' outlooks have soured. The percent of Americans self-identifying as part of the middle class has dropped from 2012 by 4 percentage points, while the percentage identifying as working class has increased by the same amount - not much of a surprise given pessimistic attitudes about the American dream.

Any assessment of economic popular opinion necessarily carries political overtones, particularly when Americans cite the economy as the most decisive issue heading into this fall's midterm elections.

"Republicans are more likely to report being in 'good' or 'excellent' financial shape than Democrats."

But disagreement about whether the economy has improved over the last two years runs along party lines. Forty-eight percent of Democrats think it has, while only 15 percent of Republicans think so. Republicans, however, are more likely to report being in "good" or "excellent" financial shape than Democrats. Part of this contradiction may reflect the fact that economic sentiments are, at least in part, a referendum on the party in the White House; thus, it's to be expected that Republicans would have a much lower opinion of economic progress since President Obama was re-elected. Furthermore, traditionally Democratic voting blocs - blacks and Hispanics - have a "substantially more negative" assessment of their own financial well-being, according to the report, than do white Americans, a demographic Mitt Romney carried overwhelming in 2012.

There's also political disagreement about the role government should play in improving the economy. Of course, the source of that disagreement often stems from what Americans think the problems are. Slightly more than half of Americans agree that unequal opportunity is among the country's biggest problems, with over 70 percent of Democrats sharing this sentiment and 34 percent of Republicans. Substantially more black Americans (76 percent) than white Americans (50 percent) feel this way. In fact, 42 percent of whites don't think it's a problem if, as PRRI phrases, "some people have more of a chance in life than others."

When government intervention is defined abstractly, 66 percent of Americans say they support the state doing more to reduce the wealth gap - again with sharp partisan divergences.

And just how should government get involved? More than half of Americans (57 percent) back what's a persistently sticky issue in Congress: raising taxes on Americans who make more than $250,000 a year, although support has decreased slightly from 2012.

An even higher percentage (69 percent) support increasing the minimum wage to $10.10, which Mr. Obama proposed in his State of the Union address in January, but which has gained little traction in Congress since being introduced last year by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., both of whom are retiring at the end of this term. Most of the recent movement on the minimum wage has been at the state and local level, as Making Sen$e reported from Seattle and one of its suburbs earlier this year.

Paid family leave, the economic benefits of which Making Sen$e has also discussed, gets 78 percent support, and paid sick-time, which, as we've reported, carries benefits for both workers and consumers, earns a whopping 81 percent support.

The PRRI survey was conducted on landlines and cellphones in English and Spanish from July 21 to August 15.

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Why half of U.S. adults no longer believe in the American dream

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If the economy is the most important issue to voters this fall, how do they feel about their own financial well-being? Half of U.S. adults think they're better off than their kids will be, with even middle class households facing moderate to high economic insecurity.

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In the distance between us it mainly talks about Reyna and her family coming to America as immigrants trying to make a better life for themselves. Her dad was very adamant on the kids having to go to school and get an education because it was very important. On the other hand, Betty and Leonardo weren't pushed as hard by their mom to have an education, so they eventually went down the wrong path. They would eat out all the time and didn't have the best diets, they didn't go to school and Betty became a teen mom. Reyna ended up getting far in life and achieving her dreams. She became a best selling author and ended up writing books about her own struggles. I think that this shows that since the kids were raised by two different people and they both had different things that were important to them. Education is something that I think is important to achieving the American Dream and so did her dad. Reyna continuing her education, despite her being put down and all of the struggles she had in her life, shows that by having a great education you can get far in life.

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For my interview, I interviewed my grandma on what she thought of the American Dream. I think that she would agree with the opinion that the American Dream is dead because of some of the things she said. One thing she said was that the US isn't a land of opportunity because it is helpful to certain races and not everyone is supported enough to create their "American Dream". Another thing she said was that the American Dream is elusive and very difficult to achieve. To support this, she uses her own life example because she says that her education had very limited funding which eliminated her chances to get into an ivy league college like she wanted. Overall, I think that her idea of the American Dream was achieved over time because of all of the things she accomplished and from all of the support she had and gives out to her family.

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Poem to defend thesis -Mother to Son,Langston Huges

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Poem to defend thesis -Mother to Son,Langston Huges

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This poem defends the statement, the American Dream is only for certain people. In the poem it talks about how hard you have to work to try and achieve goals and dreams with such little reward. In the poem it says, "But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on" which I think is saying that the mom never gave up on  trying hard to achieve her  goals and isn't  giving up despite the challenges she has faced. It also states ,"So boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard." She is trying to push her son hard to never give up and don't stop trying because something is hard for you. In order to achieve you need to work and believe that something good will be your reward. People don't get rewarded from doing nothing and not trying so never give up on your dreams and work as hard as you can.

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The pursuit of happiness is important to the American Dream because it is the key to everything. Being happy can be from anything and the happier you are, I think you can achieve more things.

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Money is important to the American Dream because you can't really achieve anything without it. You need money to support yourself, your family and your dreams. You need money for everything.

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Education is important to my American dream because it can get you far in life. Having an education is very helpful for later on in life.

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My understanding of the American Dream is to be able to live a free and equal life. The American dream to me is also to have equal opportunities as everyone else. For people to get what they deserve and be allowed to be yourself. For people not to have to struggle with anything in their life. It is also for people to live a happy and healthy life every single day and to be able to support their families with no worries. The american dream can change for everyone and not everyone cares about the same stuff. Some people may care about the expensive things that they can show off and others may only care about what they can do to provide for their family.